Paddy Jackson & Stuart Olding should not represent Ulster or Ireland at Rugby

In a rape trial in Belfast, Northern Ireland, two men are acquitted of rape and sexual assault. As part of the evidence jurors heard the content of group WhatsApp messages in which Olding and Jackson boasted about having sex. Olding described a woman he had sex with as “very, very loose” and said he and his friends were “all top shaggers” and ‘There was a bit of spit roasting going on last night fellas.’ He later added: ‘It was like a merry-go-around at a carnival.’ It is also alleged that Paddy Jackson replied on the same WhatsApp messaging service: ‘There was a lot of spit.’

This was found to be so unacceptable that crowd funding led to an advertisement in Irish newspapers, as follows:

The content of the social media exchanges involving Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding was reprehensible. Such behaviour falls far beneath the standards that your organisations represent and as such we demand that neither of these men represents Ulster or Ireland now or at any point in the future.

Yet a petition on Change.org has received 15000 signatures to have the players reinstated.

This case represents the worst of power, entitlement and treating women with total disrespect. . Only serious consequences for such behaviour will prevent repetition. They have brought shame on your organisations and must not be allowed to represent any country.